Post marathon sickness

Hi. I'm still here. It's been a crazy week. I've been thinking of some posts I want to do to remember some other aspects of my first marathon. Hopefully I'll get to that before I forget. We'll see.

Anyway, I didn't mention it here, but last Friday night I noticed the slightest tickle in my throat and I was a little scared that I was going to be sick on marathon day. I woke up on Saturday and my throat was a little sore but I was still hopeful. I bought some cough drops. I drank a ton of water last Saturday.
I woke up Sunday morning and luckily I didn't feel too bad. My mom was concerned because she knew that 26 miles is long enough when you're feeling good. She didn't voice her concerns to me because she didn't want to make me any more nervous than I already was though. I put my cough drops in my camelbak and just hoped for the best. I was only a little congested and my throat was mostly ok.
I only noticed a little during the race that I wasn't 100% healthy but it wasn't worth focusing on so I had a great time and enjoyed myself during the race. It wasn't until I stopped running that I realized I was in for something horrible. My throat was raw and I could barely talk. I asked someone where I could find the family link up area and where I could find water but I'm sure she could barely hear me.
I finally met up with my family and of course wanted to tell them every last detail of the race but it hurt to talk. That didn't stop me though, I probably talked the rest of the afternoon.
I had already taken Monday off from work to recover so it wasn't an issue that I was sick. However, I ended up taking Tuesday and Wednesday off as well because I was fighting sore throat, cough, congestion, and on and off again fever. :( It wasn't fun to be sore from my marathon and have a horrible cold on top of it.
Speaking of soreness, my legs were feeling rough the afternoon after the race but it wasn't too bad all things considered. I tried to take a nap but my legs were sore and achy so I just laid on the couch for a while to rest.
On Monday I realized that my back was almost as sore as my legs and I was hobbling around. Despite being sick, I knew I needed to walk to work out the soreness. I took Delilah out for a mile and a half walk in the gorgeous weather.
Tuesday my soreness was slightly  better and I took Delilah out for another long walk. This time I took my camera.

Beautiful path on a gorgeous day.

Red-headed woodpecker!!

Delilah leading the way.

 

 

 

 

Leaves on the water.

By Wednesday, my legs felt like I could have gone for a run. There were still a few aches but mostly I felt recovered. My cold kept me from attempting to run though. I took Delilah back out for a nice walk and called it a day.
Thursday morning I was finally well enough to go to work but I still wasn't ready to run.
In fact, I still have not gone running. I still have an occasional cough and some congestion. I'm almost back to normal though. I have every intention of heading out tomorrow for my first post-marathon run!